1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a wiper cleaning system for windshields and other surfaces serviced by wipers in which the wiper is cleaned as it passes over discrete raised elements manufactured into or added onto the surface serviced by the wiper.
2. Description of Prior Art
The need to improve vision through windshields and other surfaces serviced by wipers by cleaning the wipers to prevent streaking and smearing has been long standing.
Wipers collect, carry and trap roadway debris and other foreign matter which impairs visibility while causing wear and damage to both the windshield and the wiper, imperatives together which demand that the wiper be cleaned manually, often under less than safe or desirable conditions. Various prior art structures have been proposed and examples of such prior art are disclosed in the U.S. patents to Collins, U.S. Pat. No. 1,017,081; Eisenberg, U.S. Pat. No. 2,310,945; Kopczynski, U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,340; Treacy, U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,811; Heuser, U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,387; Dale, U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,825; Gianatasio, U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,318; Hennig, U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,518; Scott, U.S. Pat. No. 3,908,222; Kollsman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,224; Krasborn, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,130; Cox, U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,677; Erlich, U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,319; Paretskoi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,376; Mastromoro, U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,168; Aainsworth, U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,975; Fasolino, U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,001; Finland Pat. No. 50,229; Kunert, No. RE 32,318; German Pat. No. 2,457,889; British Pat. No. 1,512,327; and Swiss Pat. No. 638,443, but none of them provided an entirely satisfactory solution.
In my prior application, Ser. No. 07/406,309, a filed Sept. 12, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,013 a clearing field is disclosed which includes two sets of lines on a windshield which are inclined at an angle to the path of the wiper and are generally perpendicular to each other. While the device provides a satisfactory arrangement, for some applications the system of the present invention has been found to possess certain advantages not found in other structures.